


The Princess and The Snake [Draco Malfoy]

by e_nvchrno



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, draco - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26136271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_nvchrno/pseuds/e_nvchrno
Summary: Avery Evergreen had one goal set in her mind- to be a death-eater, just like her parents. That was, until she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where dark secrets from her past start to unfold. Things start to fall out of place when her bond with a certain Slytherin boy grow stronger.As more time passes, she begins to realise the things she thought she knew were nothing more than lies and the link established between the two Slytherins may be deadlier than she can imagine.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Avery Acacia Evergreen

Avery gripped her mother's coat tightly as they made their way across Kings Cross Station. Her heart almost leaped out of her chest as she thought about her destination.

 _'A magical place,'_ her mother had said.

_'Where you'll have a wonderful experience.'_

Hogwarts.

Her mother suddenly stopped, making Avery stop as well. They were in front of a brick wall, with a sign on top _'9 3/4'._

"Here we are," her mother knelt down,"Remember Ava," she smoothed out the creases on her daughter's shirt. Avery knew what she was going to say - she's heard it over a million times.

"Slytherin," the both said at the same time. Her mother smiled proudly at her response and stood back up. Avery had her mind set on being a Slytherin, a death-eater, just like her parents.

Avery felt her mother tug on her hand, jolting her forward. She looked up to see two adults making their way towards them, a boy trailing behind them as he pushed a huge trolley in front of him. They all had beautiful platinum hair - with the exception of the woman with a somewhat rough patch of black hair on top.

"Oh! Narcissa! Lucius! What a coincidence!" Her mother greeted.

"Ah, what a pleasant surprise," the woman smiled, offering Avery's mother a brief embrace.

As the adults started to engage in the commute, Avery caught sight of the boy with the same platinum hair standing opposite her.

He was staring her down, as if sizing her up. It was almost like he was frowning. In stark contrast, Avery's lips curved into a friendly smile, "I'm Avery Acacia Evergreen, pleasure. But you can call me Ava. And you are?"

The boy kept staring at her, with an unreadable expression on his face before finally replying, "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Avery then realised that if his parents were friends with hers, then they must either be a Slytherin, a death-eater or most likely both. She clapped her hands together excitedly, snapping Draco's attention towards her, "We're going to be sorted into the same house!"

Before he had a chance to respond, Avery's mother had said, "I see the two of you have already met." 

Avery nodded.

' _I can't believe I've already made a new friend!'_ She thought.

"Alright, through the wall you go," Her mother nudged. Avery grabbed onto her trolley. Goosebumps spread through her arm as she watched Draco run straight into the wall with his trolley. She blinked up at her snow owl, perched elegantly inside the cage. It cocked its head slightly, as if questioning her hesitance.

"Here I go," she whispered, giving her trolley a push, "Bye mum! Love you!" And with that she squeezed her eyes shut and dashed towards the wall. 

"Ouch!" Draco winced as her trolley crashed into his back. Avery's eyelids fluttered open, her gaze on Draco, ready to apologize but the words caught in her throat as she took in the view in front of her.

A massive black train, chugging out deep puffs of smoke. Kids their age running around, introducing themselves to one another. Others stayed by their parents, reluctant to let go. It wasn't much, but it looked mesmerizing.

Avery and Draco carried their suitcases, two in each hand as they waddled onto the train, slipping into an empty slot. Avery stared out the window as she watched hundreds of families waving goodbye to their children, whose heads poked out from the windows as the train chugged forward. When the station was out of sight, Avery sat back in her chair, her thoughts piling up with anticipation.

"So," Draco began, "Where does the 'a' in Ava come from?"

Without missing a beat, Avery responded, "So you see, my full name's Avery Acacia Evergreen. And the A comes from Acacia. But Ava is so much simpler than Avery, don't you think? Avery has three syllables while Ava only has two. See," she made fingers as she said each syllable, "A-Ve-Ry, while Ava's just A-Va."

Draco gave her a baffled yet amused look. He arched an eyebrow then scoffed, "Alright."

Avery decided she would explore the train, and maybe catch the trolley lady. She was in need of some butterscotch. The moment she stepped out of the compartment, she felt herself bump into something -

"Ah- What-" Avery started, but stopped and gasped when she saw the mess she had made. In front of her was a boy with round glasses, eyes wide as he looked at the dark liquid soaking his robes.

"Oh no!" Next to the boy stood another, with ginger hair and a shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry!" Avery attempted to dab at it with her own clothes, but if anything, it made it worse.

"D-Don't worry about it. I'll just change into some new ones," the boy stammered. 

"I'm sorry! Again... Um... I'm Avery Evergreen," she flashed a toothy grin, extending her hand. 

"Ron Weasley," The ginger said, shaking it. 

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

_'Harry ... Potter?'_

She couldn't shake the feeling that she knew that name from somewhere. 

She shrugged it off, remembering her butterscotch craving, "Nice to meet you! And for the third time, I'm really sorry!"

-

Whispers and loud chatters could be heard as the new students waited for the small boats to take them across the dark, murky lake. Avery found herself clutching onto Draco's robes, careful not to be lost in the sea of people.

After a few hours on the express train, she had learnt quite a few things about him now - how his parents wanted him to be a death-eater as well, how he was expected to be sorted into Slytherin, the fact that he hated mud-bloods...

Avery didn't get that part. She then proceeded to tell him about how she enjoyed reading in her free time, and how she found muggle objects fascinating. Especially telephones and rubber ducks ...

"Scared?" Draco taunted, pulling Avery back into reality.

She rolled her eyes, "You wish." She grinned. As they boarded the same boat, Avery wondered what lied beyond the deep waters. A chill ran up her spine.

When they arrived in front of a large corridor, they were greeted by a lady who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She meticulously explained the sorting process, her eyes landing on each individual student as she scanned the crowd.

Cheerful murmurs that erupted in the crowd. 

Avery beamed,"Drac-"

He was no longer by her side. She stood on her tiptoes, catching a glimpse of platinum hair weaving through the crowd. He stood where Professor McGonagall stood just moments before. Two boys followed him obediently.

"So it's true then. What they're saying on the train," Draco's voice pierced the air, turning all attention on him,"Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

Avery continued to stand on her tip toes, her calves starting to ache. People around her had starting murmuring amongst one another excitedly.

"This is Crabbe, and Goyle," He continued, "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." 

Avery made her way through the crowd, muttering 'sorry's as she bumped into multiple people. 

When she finally made her way to the front, she saw Ron snicker at Draco's introduction. 

"You think my name's funny, do you?" Draco shot, "Red hair, and hand-me-down robes... You must be a Weasley."

At this, Ron's gaze fell to the ground, his cheeks flushing red. 

Avery crinkled her eyebrows together, "Hey, stop that. That's not very nice."

Ron glanced up at her, giving her a thankful smile.

Draco on the other hand had completely ignored her and turned back to Harry, "You'll find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." He pushed his hand out.

Harry glanced at it for a split second before retorting, "I think I can tell the wrong sort myself, thanks."

Draco had a look on his face as he heard this, but before he could say anything, Professor McGonagall had returned. She tapped Draco on the shoulder, putting him back in his place. He and his minions stepped down and joined the crowd.

"Why are you friends with him?" Ron asked in a voice just above a whisper. 

Avery shrugged, "He's a nice person once you get to know him." The words stumbled out of her mouth before she could think. Avery realised she didn't actually _know_ Draco, she had literally just met him.

"You'll be in Gryffindor for sure, Ava," Ron said with a big smile on his face.

Avery's smile dropped in an instant, "W-Why Gryffindor?" She asked. 

_'No no no.'_

She wanted to be in Slytherin.

_'But what if they hate me for being in Slytherin?'_

"You seem like a good person, that's why," Ron replied.

Harry nodded beside him, "Yeah, nothing to worry about."

Avery was about to protest when the corridor doors opened wide, Professor McGonagall leading the group as they walked in an orderly fashion. Avery took in every angle of the room, from the enchanted ceiling to the four long tables positioned of equal distance from each other. 

When they've all reached the front, Professor McGonagall repeated the process again, gesturing towards an old brown hat, unraveling a scroll and calling out students' names.

Hermione Granger was the first name to be called out. Everyone fidgeted in their places, a nervous look on each of their faces. A bushy haired brunette girl stepped out to the front, muttering to herself, her face twisted with worry.

"Mental that one, I'm tellin' ya," Ron whispered to Harry, who nodded in agreement. Avery watched as the hat was placed on her head as soon as she took a seat.

"Right then... Okay.. GRYFFINDOR!" The hat announced, and an eruption of claps surrounded the room as the Gryffindors welcomed their newest member.

"Draco Malfoy!"

Avery's eyes darted towards Draco. He walked up confidently, glancing at Avery and giving her a knowing nod. Before the hat was even placed on his head, the hat exclaimed, "SLYTHERIN!" making the Slytherins jump up and clap loudly.

Draco had a half smirk as he made his way down past Avery, "Your turn." He whispered in her ear before proceeding to the Slytherin table.

"There wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin," Ron said to Avery and Harry.

Avery's head made a sharp turn towards the ginger, (more than) slightly offended, "What's so bad about Slytherin?"

Ron stayed quiet, but his eyes showed hints of fear.

Next up was Ron, who immediately got sorted in Gryffindor once the Hat recognised him as a Weasley. Then Harry. 

He closed his eyes tight as he chanted, _"Not Slytherin, not slytherin,"_ over and over again, praying the Hat would put him in Gryffindor.

"Not Slytherin eh?" The hat seemed taken back at the start. At the end, it decided Gryffindor would be a better place for Harry.

"Avery Evergreen!"

Her legs almost gave away, and her heart was beating furiously. She hoped she wouldn't trip and fall face first on the steps. 

She took her seat. The hat started babbling immediately, "Brave girl... Would be a great addition to Gryffindor..."

 _'Please not Gryffindor,'_ she thought solemnly, crossing her fingers.

"Loyal and hardworking too... Maybe Hufflepuff.... Very intelligent, perhaps Ravenclaw for that matter..."

"But Slytherin... it'd be a great place for you," The hat kept rambling, "But maybe it's not quite the best- Well then, GRYFFI-" Claps were heard from the Gryffindor table already.

Avery started to panic, _'If the hat gave in to Harry, then maybe-maybe--'_

"No," she managed to sqeak out. She cleared her throat.

"No," She repeated, her voice firmer,"please not Gryffindor."

She didn't dare glance at Harry or Ron. She needed to make her parents proud and Gryffindor definitely was not the way to go. She held her breath. Her heart thundered in her chest.

"Not Gryffindor, hm? That's a first," The hat seemed bewildered, "Alright, better be SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table rose and cheered. Avery smiled broadly, making her way to the cheers. She turned in time to see Ron and Harry whispering to each other, confusion clear in their eyes. 

"Congratulations and welcome," an older boy greeted. She thanked him before taking a seat next to Draco.

"I did it," She breathed out, relieved.

She could tell by the looks of it Draco wasn't oblivious to the fact that she almost got put in Gryffindor. The question marks in his eyes were obvious, but she turned a blind eye, introducing herself to others in her usual way.

Avery gave Draco a smile, hoping that he'd let the matter slide.

 _'It's official,'_ she thought, smiling from ear to ear, _'I'm now officially a Slytherin.'_


	2. The Mirror of Erised

_'Why'd you choose Slytherin?'_ Ron's words re-winded in Avery's mind like a broken record. She sighed. 

_'Because, it's just a choice I made.'_ She had replied back then.

 _'For whom? Is it your parents?'_ He had asked curiously.

She had looked him straight in the eye, ' _No, it's for me.'_

Avery could tell he had tried very hard to hide his concern. At one point, his voice had started to shake and Harry had to speak in his place.

She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, lost in her own thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hermione Granger walking in, head held high as she did so, her messy brown curls bobbing up and down.

"You're Avery, if I'm not mistaken?"

Avery nodded, taken back by her initiative to start a conversation,"And you're Hermione?"

There was something about the way Hermione talked that made her seem 10 times more mature than she was. Only a few weeks at Hogwarts and there were already rumours that she was the smartest kid in our year. Avery watched strands of Hermione's frizzy hair bounce back up whenever she tried to smooth it out. 

"You're not..." Avery hesitated before continuing, "Bothered by the fact that I'm in Slytherin and you're not?"

"Well..." Hermione began, a little uncertain, "I don't think it matters. I overheard Harry and Ron talking about you earlier, you seem.. good. Can I ask you a question, Avery?"

"Oh, call me Ava."

"Oh, okay, can I ask you a question then, Ava?"

"Sure."

Avery suddenly thought of her father. What he used to repeat constantly to her, and how she's heard him say these words so much they've etched themselves into her brain.

_'We're rivals. We don't interact with one another, we're not in the same group of people and trust me, we do_ _not_ _want to be.'_

Hermione cleared her throat, and Avery braced herself for a tough question.

_'What was she going to ask? 'Why were you so desperate to be in Slytherin?' 'Why are you friends with Malfoy?''_

Hermione started,"First of all, how did you get your broomstick to just..." She made a whooshing motion with her hand, "...rise up to your hands?"

"Oh, that-"

Earlier that day, they were taught to summon a broomstick by concentrating and chanting the word 'up'. Avery had made a bet with Draco, claiming she would master it before him. He took the bet; she won.

Hermione didn't give Avery a chance to answer. Instead, her expression hardened. "Second of all, why did you choose Slytherin over Gryffindo-"

She never got to finish her sentence. The next thing Avery saw was dust, and she heard Hermione shriek beside her. 

The bricks from the bathroom walls started to fly out in different directions, some of them just barely missing their heads. Debris and dirty dust particles flew into the air, shielding their visions. 

Avery's eyes widened as she saw an outline of a horrendous being. She pushed Hermione aside, screaming, "Watch out!"

Hermione let out a shrill scream, covering her ears as the creature swung its weapon around, crushing everything in its path.

Avery crouched down besides Hermione, shaking as she stared up at the creature. But when she saw Hermione's expression, she took a deep breath and whispered, "It'll be okay."

"Hermione?! Ava?!"

Avery and Hermione exchanged a wide-eyed look before poking their heads out to identify the owner of the voice.

"Harry! Ron! Over here!"

Hermione backed up against the wall as she realised the creature had heard her.

"You have to move!" Harry yelled out, beckoning frantically.

Avery got onto her knees, checking to see if Hermione was safe behind her. Carefully, she crawled towards Harry and Ron, who looked just as frightened.

Harry hauled Avery up first. He stood in front of her in a protective stance as he helped Hermione while Ron chucked a brick at the troll's head, "Hey, pea-brain!" 

Avery racked her brain, flipping through every page from books she ever read, every spell she was ever taught in these past weeks. 

_'Lumos'? 'Alohomora'? 'Accio'?_

Her brain came up with no answers except for _'Wingardium Leviosar' -_ a spell she had learnt from Charms class that morning.

She heard someone calling out her name from behind. Turning back she caught a glimpse of blond hair not far from her. His eyes was squinted as he tried to make out the scene in front of him.

"Draco!" She cried out, then clamping her mouth shut. She couldn't risk the troll hurting him too.

Thankfully, his eyes landed on her.

Avery didn't say more but she knew the fear written all over her face was enough to convey her emotions. Hermione let out another shriek, relocating Avery's attention. The troll was swinging its large wooden weapon around again, destroying bathroom tiles and crushing cubicles.

"Get out of there!" Draco urged, turning her attention back on him, "Now Ava!"

He dashed towards her and made a grab for her wrist. He yanked hard, but she could feel him shake with fear.

"Wait, Draco! Ava-" Harry started, but he disappeared from her sight before she could call out.

Guilt washed over her as she realised she hadn't said a proper 'thank you' to the two Gryffindors, but she could slowly feel herself relax as they drifted further and further away from the troll.

Once they entered the Slytherin common room Draco released his grip. At first glance, he looked quite indignant, but she realised his eyes conveyed more worry than any other emotions,"If anything happened to you, father would kill me," he hissed, looking to see if people were watching, "Stay away from those three. Especially Potter."

"Draco, don't worry! I'm fine see!" She did a small twirl, forcing a smile, "... Thanks for looking out for me."

Draco didn't say anything after that, so she continued, "You're a good person."

She could've sworn his gaze softened. He was speechless.

-

A few days after the troll incident, Avery and Draco were on their tiptoes, in the dark, stealthily trailing behind Harry and Ron. They crouched down behind a huge pillar.

She pressed her finger on Draco's lips every time he made a noise, "Shush! I don't want to get expelled."

He looked at her like she was mad, "You were the one who wanted to wander around after hours!"

She pressed harder, "Shhh!"

Her eyes landed on the two Gryffindors who had stopped abruptly in front of a large mirror. 

They exchanged some words she couldn't catch but she could hear strings of _'my parents'_ and _'quidditch'._

"What do you think they're on about?" She asked a little too loudly, immediately feeling Draco's palm clamp her mouth shut.

Ron's head snapped towards them, his eyes scanning the place anxiously.

"Harry, we should go..."

Harry took a while to reply, "Yeah you're right. Let's go."

Avery let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She made sure the footsteps were far enough before she and Draco made their way towards the mirror.

"What could be so interesting about an old mirror?" Draco spat out. He looked unimpressed.

Avery shifted her weight onto one leg, curiously looking at their reflections in the mirror, "I don't know but there's gotta be something," her eyes studied each corner, brushing her fingertips on the mirrors' edges before encountering several odd inscriptions.

"...Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," she tried. 

"What are you doing?" 

Avery pointed at the tiny inscriptions on the mirror, and Draco peered at it cautiously, muttering the words to himself.

"Ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire..." Avery thought long and hard. She was getting warmer, she could feel it.

Draco looked at her with his eyebrows arched, waiting impatiently.

"Oh!" She half-yelled, the realisation hitting her, "I show ... not your face, but your hearts desire."

Realising she had figured it out, Draco looked into the mirror intently, as did Avery.

She gasped in awe as a picture started to form in front of her.

"What? What is it? What do you see?" Draco asked, eyes darting around the mirror.

"Look," Avery backed away to let him take a closer look.

"My parents," He said after a while, "They're..."

"Your parents? No, they're my parents," she pointed towards the two figures beside her. She gave Draco a very puzzled look.

"No-" Draco started.

_'What was he getting at?'_

In front of her was the perfect image of her parents and her in between. And they ... seemed so genuinely happy.

"My parents aren't fighting," she uttered, a tender smile on her face.

Precisely, at that same time Draco mumbled, "They're proud of me."

"Wait... why wouldn't they be proud of you?" Avery tore her eyes away from the perfect image she had always yearned for. 

Draco shrugged, "They never are."

Avery turned her attention back into the mirror.

Maybe she wasn't the only one with family troubles.

"My parents always fight too," she empathized, "My dad says my mum is too open-minded. She says he's too serious all the time. That's just the beginning of it." 

_'He also said that she didn't do a good job of raising me.'_

She didn't say that part.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Avery cracked a smile, "But Draco, maybe this mirror tells our future," she was certain that it didn't, "You never know."


	3. Friends and Detention

For the fourth time the following week, Avery glumly walked into Professor Snape's office with a bundle of books in her hands and slumped down onto an empty chair.

"Where's Mr.Malfoy?" Professor Snape asked, not looking up from his book.

"I... have no idea," Avery replied before burying her head in her arms.

"Hm. Get to work."

"Yes, sir," she responded monotonously, ready to pour out a pile of books from her bag. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of gold dart across the window.

She stared intently, almost leaping out of her seat when Draco's head popped up. He waved.

 _'What are you doing?!'_ She mouthed, scrunching up her eyebrows, _'You're late to detention!'_

She snuck a peek at the professor, who was still engrossed in his book. She turned back to Draco and added, ' _You got us into detention!'_

Draco mouthed some words she could not catch. He beckoned towards the door, urging her to head outside.

"No!" Avery bit her lip, realising she had spoken out loud. Luckily for her, Professor Snape did not seem to be paying her any attention.

The _'Are you stupid?'_ look on her face was directly shot at Draco. She saw his eyes widen before he ducked down, disappearing from sight.

Avery shook her head, turning back towards -

"Who was that out the window?" Professor Snape asked, looking down at her.

"Dean Thomas," she blurted out. She wanted to slap herself on the head. Out of all people, she chose a Gryffindor boy who she had never spoken a word to.

There was a knock on the door and Crabbe waddled in, looking like he was about to burst into tears. Avery shot him an odd look, but he avoided her. He walked up to Professor Snape, jabbering about mandrakes and their roots. 

"I suggest you speak to Professor Sprout about mandrakes, if you are so interested."

"B-But, she wanted me to speak to yo-you, sir," Crabbe gulped.

Professor Snape gave him a long hard look, no attempt to hide his contempt. He turned his back onto Crabbe, his face still twisted into a vexed expression.

Crabbe took this chance to wave his hands frantically at Avery. He pointed to the door, mouthing the words _'Draco'._

 _'Seriously? He sacrificed you to Snape?'_ She mouthed back.

Crabbe let out a squeak as he nodded.

_'Oh Merlin, Draco. You're going to get me in so much trouble.'_

Avery swung her bag over one shoulder and slipped out the door briskly. Draco was already waiting for her outside, deviousness written across his face,"Took you long enough."

"What are you thinking? Why are we out here?" She asked impatiently.

"Because-"

He never finished. A furious looking Professor Snape barged through the office door and set his eyes on them. 

"In my office," He enunciated each word, his glare piercing through them.

His robes fluttered as he led the way back to his office. Subsequently, Draco had a tight hold on Avery's robe as he sprinted in the other direction.

He was towing her along, his robes flapping around against the wind. Avery dare not turn back but she knew Professor Snape was behind them.

That day ended in laughter.

However, thanks to that little goose chase, they were put into groups the following night as punishment for not only wandering around in the middle of the night but _also_ for skipping detention. 

_'Geez, thanks, Draco,'_ Avery thought, swerving away from sharp branches in the dark, her every step noisy as she stepped on a dry leaf or a fallen branch.

Their goal was to find an injured unicorn in the forbidden forest- where they were told at the beginning of the school year that it was _off bounds_.

_Ironic._

Avery never felt more relieved knowing that Hagrid was with them. Professor Snape had purposefully separated her and Draco to dissipate trouble. And he specifically mentioned that he would call both their parents in regards to their 'mischievous' acts. Draco and Avery both agreed it was unfair.

So now here she was, trudging along with Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom in one group. Harry and Draco were in another. 

_'Not the greatest pairing in the world,'_ she thought bitterly.

Avery wondered though, how the four Gryffindors ended up in this dangerous venture they call detention as well.

"How are you?" Hermione asked out of the blue, "How are you doing... In Slytherin?"

Avery blinked a few times, "It's um... fine. I've got a few friends... Draco, for one. How are you?"

The conversation bounced back and forth tediously. Avery wondered if she should ask why they were here as well. She sensed Hermione and Neville keeping their guards up, but it wasn't like she was going to do anything to them.

Plus, she assumed she and Hermione had bonded over the troll incident. Perhaps she was jumping too quickly into a friendship.

"Neville, we haven't really properly met yet, have we? I'm Avery Evergreen but please call me Ava," Avery put out her friendliest smile. Neville shook her hand, introducing himself mannerly but nevertheless still looking nervous. 

"Heads up!" Avery warned, before Hermione hit the sharp branch in front of her face. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers when she saw that it was only centimeters away from her right eye.

"Good eye, Avery." Hagrid said, "Let's carry on now." He plodded behind the three of them, alert to his surroundings. Hagrid always had a jolly tone no matter what situation. Avery liked that about him. She smiled, but not for long.

Seconds later, piercing screams filled the air.

 _'Draco and Harry',_ her brain raced at the thought of them in trouble.

Panic filled every part of her body as her breath caught in her throat. When she turned to face the others, their expressions mirrored hers.

-

When they were finally out of the forest, Hagrid briefly mentioned Draco and Harry's encounter with a dead unicorn in the forest. He had a look of dismay on his face, and Avery sensed that he was definitely hiding something. She decided not to probe.

The next few days, Draco and her were forced to do a series of chores - on the weekends. Sorting out library books in alphabetical order, dusting off bookshelves and wiping dust. Tedious.

That was before they stumbled upon the Restricted Section, before they stumbled upon some... well, hilarious yet extremely inappropriate books. They had a good laugh. That being said, they were caught almost immediately by Professor McGonagall, who assigned them twice as much work.

Later that week, angry letters from their parents had arrived. Luckily, they had waited to open them in their dormitory - saving them (especially Avery) the embarrassment of a talking letter. She missed her mother's soothing voice but towards the end, she could only hear her father's voice. Full of anger. It made her think back to the mirror.

That night, Avery and Draco made their way to the Great Hall, stomachs grumbling at the thought of a feast.

"Did you know that the end of the school year is in less than two months?" Avery asked Crabbe and Goyle. She wasn't sure they heard her but they nodded absentmindedly, shoving more food in their mouths.

"I am so stuffed!" A girl named Cassandra announced from the end of the table. Her friends laughed, teasing her about her appetite.

Avery turned around, examining the room for Harry, Ron and Hermione. They weren't present. 

Then she faced Draco, who was munching on a treacle berry tart. She grabbed one as well, inhaling its delicious smell.

"Promise you'll write?" She held up her pinky in front of him. He looked at her peculiarly. 

"What?" He asked, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. 

"You're supposed to intertwine your pinky with mine," she explained, "It's a pinky promise."

"What am I," He asked daringly, "Your only friend?"

That hit a nerve. Unpleasant memories from when she was younger flooded into her head. Avery's pinky slowly started to droop but she didn't let the smile on her face fade. 

"You're my first friend," She admitted, "...And now I think you're my best friend."

She bit the inside of her cheek, expecting him to tease her ... just like _them._

But he didn't. He linked his left pinky with hers and shook it. He rolled his eyes, focusing back onto his tart.

"Yeah, whatever."

Avery lit up, knowing that _that_ Draco Malfoy's way of saying he meant it.


	4. Enemies of the Heir Beware

It was soon going to be Avery's second year at Hogwarts.

Soon.

She made her way down the narrow pathway of Diagon Alley, searching for 'Magical Me' - a so called famous book by a so called famous man named Gilderoy Lockhart. 

Finally spotting it, she quickly made her way in, and was delighted to see some familiar faces.

_Harry, Ron, and--_

"Draco!" Avery spotted him on the top of the stairs, watching with great intent, a man who seemed desperate to pose with Harry. The camera flash went off, sending a puff of smoke into the air. Claps sounded all around, but a look of disgust washed over Ron's face.

"You look so grossed out," Avery giggled at his expression.

"Ava! I didn't see you!" Ron said, greeting her in a hug, "Harry, look who's shown up!" His face fell as he saw his best friend up at the front of the bookstore with none other than the man of the hour - Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Bloody hell, I don't see what the fuss is all about," he shook his head.

"Neither," Avery shrugged.

Avery had been writing to Harry, Ron and Hermione over the holidays. Draco too, of course. Except, with the former three, it was always a process of hide-and-seek. Her parents could never know. She found it quite thrilling, in all honesty.

As the claps died down, Draco made his way down the stairs, catching sight of her for the first time. His lips curled into a smile as he ripped a page out of a book and shoved it in his pocket. 

Her eyes seemed to be asking, _'What in the bloody hell are you doing?'_

His eyes seemed to be saying, _'Watch this.'_

Harry finally emerged from the crowd of people, spotting Avery among the crowd, "Ava!" He seemed more than happy to see a familiar face.

Draco was at the bottom of the stairs, making his presence known, "Bet you loved that didn't you, Potter? ... Famous Harry Potter can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page." 

"Leave him alone," The girl beside Harry piped up, her face stone cold. Yet, the slight waver in her tone broke the image. 

Avery didn't even notice her. From the colour of her hair, and the way Ron positioned himself in front of her, she could make the safe assumption that she was a Weasley.

Draco smirked, "Oh, look Potter, you got yourself a girlfriend."

Harry glared scornfully.

Avery felt herself shrink down when she saw a tall figure make his way towards them. 

"Now, now Draco, play nice," Lucius Malfoy put his hand on Draco's shoulder, his tone dripping with disdain. There was something about Draco's father that always scared Avery a fair bit, or perhaps it was everything about him.

"Yeah Draco, play nice," Avery echoed. His eye twitched.

"Come with? I'm supposed to get some money out of the bank," Avery motioned him to follow her after she waved goodbye to Harry and Ron. 

The trip to Gringott's was quick. Avery walked out of the bank, promptly putting the small sack of gold coins in her pocket. She saw Draco eyeing the new broomstick - Nimbus 2001.

She made her way towards him when an old man emerged from the shadows, a sick smile on his face. His clothes baggy and his teeth yellow, Avery backed away, startled.

"Wha-"

He lurched forward, holding a death grip on her arm, his other hand demanding her money. Avery tried jerking herself free with no success. 

"Leave her alone," Draco put himself between the two.

"Or what?" The man cackled, unveiling his pocket knife. He was underestimating them, for sure.

"Draco, it's okay," Avery assured, ready to hand over the coins. She gulped, this was the only way to avoid unnecessary problems. She could already feel her arm start to bruise from the man's deadly grip.

Draco shook his head, glowering down at the man, "I'll make you feel her pain tenfold."

Avery looked at Draco in half-awe. 

_'No way Draco would do anything.'_

The man coughed and let go of Avery arm, a deep chuckle rumbling in his throat. 

"Stupid kid," He scowled before walking away.

Avery gazed at Draco, rubbing her swollen wrist, "I- Uh, thanks, Draco," she flashed him a smile. 

"You gotta-" Then suddenly, his expression was filled with pure shock as his eyes landed on something behind her.

Avery turned around, just in time to see a flash of silver dart past her line of sight. Draco held his arms up in a protective stance over his head.

The man from earlier lurched forward, slashing Draco's arm with his pocket knife. Anger bubbled in her veins.

Avery looked around for help, but the streets were empty today. 

Draco staggered back, and Avery could see the fear flash in his eyes, even just momentarily. 

_'No way Draco would do anything to this man.'_

Avery was already prepared for his next attack- on her. She was sure this was the result of one too many butterbeers.

"Leave us alone!" She growled. When he didn't budge, she strided over quickly angrily. She twisted the man's arm, and he screeched in pain. The knife cluttered onto the ground with a small ' _clang'_. 

She striked his stomach with a forceful tug of her knee, making him topple to the ground.When she was sure he had given up, she backed away.

"Is... Is he dead?" Draco clutched his arm. There was a trickle of scarlet liquid. He poked the unmoving man with the tip of his shoes, "That's what you get for underestimating us."

"He's not dead, but you will if you keep losing that much blood," She joked.

Together they walked back into the bookstore and soon it was time for her to leave. She turned to Draco and his wounded arm, he was clutching it like his life depended on it.

"We make quite a good team, don't we?"

"I guess we do."

-

A few days later, Avery sat next to Draco in class, setting her books and bag aside.

"Di-Did you see Ron's face this morning?" She said, bursting into laughter again as she recalled the horror on Ron's face when he received a howler.

Draco scoffed, "He deserved it. Weasley." As always, he emphasized on Ron's last name foully.

Avery flipped through a few pages of the book, still giggling softly.

_'Kill.'_

"What?" She questioned, her head snapping up. She surveyed the room cautiously. No one answered, just a few strange looks directed at her. She cleared her throat and tried to focus on the words sprawled across the pages.

_'Kill,_

_Kill.'_   
  
She dropped her quill, her heart thundering in her chest. 

"Draco..." She began, her voice trembling.

"What?" 

When he saw the look on her face, he became concerned.

"You really can't hear it?"

_'Kill.'_

It wasn't a taunt nor a mock.

It was an _urge._

"Don't you hear it, Draco?" She slammed the book shut, hoping the dreadful voice would go away. All eyes were on her now, and her face glowed like a beet.

He eyed her quizzically, "Hear what?"

"What is she talking about?" Avery could hear a few students mutter to each other.

Avery gaped at him, then quickly shook her head, "N-Nevermind. Maybe I'm sleep deprived."

_'He must think I'm bonkers.'_

Gilderoy Lockhart arrived at last, silencing the chatters around the room. He began to explore the fascinating topic of pixies. Avery paid no attention to him, still lost in thought when deafening squeaks in her ear brought her back to reality. 

Her eyes couldn't dart around fast enough to take in the out-of-control situation unraveling in front of her.

Somebody snapped their fingers. _No, not somebody. Something. And it was tiny._

She observed the purple creature with interest before it flicked her forehead. 

"Hey!" She flicked back with more force, causing it to tumble in the air. Neville Longbottom was screaming for help as the pixies had him by both ears. 

"Oh no! Neville!" She cried out. She tried to contain her giggles.

Noticing the classroom was nearly vacant, she too ran out, but not before casting a spell that caused the pixies to fall on the floor. 

Not lifeless, just frozen.

Ron and Hermione trailed behind her as she exited. Ron complimented the spell greatly and Hermione was desperate to know where she had learnt it from.

But Avery was paying little to no attention to them, the urge was back. And she had a feeling it would stay for a while. She stopped in her tracks and faced them.

"Please tell me you guys hear it." The desperation in her voice was as clear as ever. 

Ron raised his eyebrows and Hermione's eyes narrowed, "Hear what?"

Avery sighed. That was a clear no.

Quickly excusing herself, Avery rushed off.

Unaware of where she was going, she looked down in dismay when she noticed that her shoes were completely soaked. She wiggled her toes, grunting in annoyance as her socks too felt damp. But the massive puddle beneath her feet held a reflection.

"What on earth..." She trailed off, her eyes following the large puddle. Scrawls of red muddled the water, and Avery squinted at the words, trying to make out what they meant.

Then her eyes shifted towards the wall in front of her - bold, red writing catching her completely off guard. She stumbled back, almost losing her balance. 

Avery glided across closer to the wall, noticing something else - something hung upside down...

_'Mrs. Norris?!'_

"Don't!" 

Avery gasped. She came face to face with Harry, who looked just as distraught as she did. Hermione and Ron followed behind him, water splashing around their feet as they approached.

"The chamber of secrets have been opened, enemies of the heir... Beware," Hermione read out loud. "It's written in blood." She grimaced when she she saw the poor cat. Harry trudged past the water, taking a good look at it. Before any of us knew it, hundreds of kids had gathered around them. They kept a good distance away.

"Enemies of the heir beware?" Draco was there too. He took a step forwards, eyes on Hermione, "You're next, mudblood." 

Avery groaned. Draco's eyes shifted towards her, confusion in his eyes. A group of Professors arrived on the scene next. First Professor Filch who accused Harry of murdering his cat, threatening him harshly -

"It wasn't his fault!" Avery piped up and he scowled.

"Shut your mouth."

Professor Dumbledore appeared then, calming the waters, but even the Headmaster paled once he saw the writings on the wall.

"Everyone will proceed to the dormitories immediately." He ordered, beckoning everyone away, "Everyone except you four." He pointed at Avery, Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"Headmaster, I did not see Potter or Evergreen at dinner," Professor Snape remarked. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be in thought.

"She was with me, Professor Snape," chimed another voice.

_'Draco.'_

Professor Snape's glanced between Draco and Avery, considering the boy's words. He glowered down at Avery, before silently (and begrudgingly) dismissing her.

"You didn't have to do that... But thank you," Avery whispered once she and Draco were out of sight.

Draco looked furious,"I told you to stay away from them."

"I wasn't with them!"

"Liar."

"Draco, you don't hear voices in your head. You wouldn't get it!... And trust me you wouldn't want to," Avery cried out.

Draco stood still, and his eyebrows pressed together in concern, "What voices, Ava? What are you talking about?"

When she didn't answer, he grabbed her arm. "Ava, answer me. What voices?"

She could see the concern wavering in his eyes. She also knew he would never admit that he was worried.

"It's not a big deal," She shrugged him off, "I-I don't know what they want! I mean- I- It wants me to kill, or it's after me. Or maybe... I don't know, I don't know! I-... I think it wants to kill me."

Avery could see the shock register in Draco's eyes, and the fear that followed afterwards.

_'I'm scared, Draco.'_

"Just let it go, Draco. You wouldn't understand."


	5. Parseltongue

All the second years were gathered in a spacious room; word had spread fast about a potential duel. Kids were crowded around the middle, fighting to get a closer look at the long stage placed in the center of the room.

Avery too, by some miracle had somehow made her way up front so she could see better. The people were right. There was a duel. An uninteresting one between Lockhart and Professor Snape. But Avery's attention was captured when Harry and Draco came on the stage. ' _Rivals,' her_ dad's voice rang in her mind.

"Scared, Potter?" Draco's back facing her but she could imagine the bold look in his eyes.

Harry stayed calm and collected, "You wish."

Avery's eyes flashed, "Hey! That's what I said to Draco exactly a year ago!"

On opposite ends of the stage were Gilderoy Lockhart and Professor Snape, the former looking much more excited than the latter.

They performed a quick demonstration before calling up Harry and Draco's names, summoning them forward. Avery shot them both a grin and two thumbs up.

Both of them held their wands up and marched in separate directions.

"On the count of three, cast a charm to disarm your opponent," Lockhart directed, "Only to disarm. We don't want any accidents here." 

Avery rolled her eyes, feeling a stab of annoyance as he said this, _'If an accident were going to happen, it'd probably be because of him.'_

"One, Two-"

Draco yelled out a spell, his wand pointed at Harry. His body twisted backwards a couple of times before hitting the ground with a ' _thump_ '. Some of the Slytherins pointed and laughed. Harry was quick to get back up on his feet, a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

"Rictusempra!"

A jet of silver light hit Draco's stomach-doubling him over. Avery winced.

"Get up, Draco!" She said as encouragingly as possible.

He looked at her, then at Professor Snape shamefully.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart repeated.

No attention was paid to him.

"SERPENSORTIA!"

The desperation was clear in Draco's voice. A snake shot out of his wand, slithering towards Harry in a steady speed. His eyes bulged. Professor Snape took out his wand, ready to get rid of the reptile but Lockhart _had_ to get in the way, casting a spell( _which in Avery's opinion, was most likely was not even an actual spell_ ). There was a murderous look in the snake's eyes.

_'Kill.'_

"Stop it," Avery cursed under her breath. Crabbe, who was beside her gave her an odd look. She stared him down, despite being uncomfortable with the attention.

"Your eyes-" There was a part of her that thought he was going to pay her a compliment. She pulled herself up on the stage before he could say another peep. She stepped past Draco, her main priority was to get rid of that snake.

She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling lightheaded. But she kept walking towards the creature, ignoring the constant throbbing in her head.

_"Mummy!" Avery could see a little girl running up to a woman. Big blue eyes, a chubby baby face and tinted red cheeks._

_'Where have I seen her before?' She wondered. 'Wait.'_

_'That's me. I'm 5.'_

_'That can't be right, I'm right here,'_ _she thought, pinching herself._

_She was in a field full of poppies. The woman whose arms she just ran into stood next to a pine tree that swayed with the wind.The scene played out in front of her, and after a while, she was able to pinpoint the memory in her head._

_She had been crying that day, and she could remember the hot tears streaming down her cheeks, the taste of salt in her mouth._

_"They're making fun of me again," She watched herself stomp her foot, the pout that was visible on her lips, mum's tight embrace that came shortly._

_'Here comes the bad part,' she thought to herself, staring blankly at what was about to come._

_Her tall, broad dad came along, shooting mum and little her an unpleasant look._

_"You must stand up to them. I won't allow any daughter of mine to be bullied by those foolish muggles."_

_Teary eyed Avery tilted her head up so that she could see dad, raised her hand to her face and wiped her eyes. She remembered wanting to act tough back then in front of dad. Then she remembered apologizing._

_A flash of light flared up in front of her eyes and in a blink of an eye, she was in a baby room. There was a young woman holding a bundle of joy in her arms, cooing softly. Avery couldn't help but smile._

_The woman began singing a song, "Hush, little Avery, don't you cry--"_

_Avery shifted from her spot to take a better look at the woman's face._

_'Wait -'_

_The woman had features opposite from her mother'_ _s plump lips, pale skin and fierce blue eyes._

_She was pretty._

_'But who was she? But why am I here? Is this really my memory-'_

_Avery gasped when she saw the woman's husband walk in with another baby in his arms. Again, he was the complete opposite from her dad. A smaller frame. Taller, lankier. He pushed his glasses frame up with one hand and set the baby down in the cradle gently._

_The room was brightly coloured, toys scattered all around._

_'Was this even... me?_ _Maybe it was Draco,' s_ _he pondered as she got closer to the baby._

_'No, it couldn't be. Unless his dark coloured hair had somehow fallen off and was replaced by pure platinum blonde. And it just didn't add up. Okay, this is probably a dream-'_

_Something similar to a spark blazed and all of a sudden--_

"Guys, she's waking up."

"Shush, Ron. Give her some space."

"You're in the way!"

"I still don't understand how she can speak to snakes."

A deep breath was taken, "I told you. She's a Slytherin. It's not _that_ uncommon."

Then Ron's voice, "But she almost got sorted into Gryffindor."

 _Almost_.

She heard Hermione shush him one more time before her eyelids flapped open.

The first thing she saw was white blur. Everything was too bright.

When her eyes adjusted, Avery didn't get a chance to take a breath before was bombarded with questions from Ron and Hermione (mostly Hermione).

Afterwards (before Avery got to answer any of those questions), Hermione's eyes darted across the whole room, making sure no one else was listening before she started telling her about their 'plan' to uncover the true heir of Slytherin.

_"For all we know, it could be you. Or Harry."_

Avery replayed it in her head. She may have just woken up but those words had done more than just spark her interest. Not to mention Hermione's plan.

The first step was to get hair from fellow Slytherins for the potion - Millicent, Crabbe and Goyle. Leave the potion making to Hermione. 

The second step, hide the Slytherins' bodies before the potions are consumed.

The third step was where Avery would come in - have a chat with them as they would look exactly like Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent and lead them to where Draco was.

She felt a pool guilt gather in her stomach as she thought about lying to Draco. But she needed answers. That took priority.

_'There is no way I'm the heir of Slytherin, right? My parents would have told me, wouldn't they?'_

And so she agreed, but with a catch, "What do I get in return?"

She didn't expect anything much. A part of her wanted them to say something genuine like _'friendship'_ or _'some butterscotch candy'._

Hermione adverted her gaze to Ron, who shrugged both shoulders.

"I'll think of something. Til' then... I owe you one," Hermione said sincerely.

Harry had stayed quiet the whole time, deep in thought. It was a while before he finally said, "We spoke parseltongue."

Avery cocked her head to one side,

 _'We?_ '

"Parseltongue?... I wouldn't know. How did I black out again?"

Hermione and Ron got up and gave Avery and Harry some privacy.

"I understood you. I understood what you were saying," Harry whispered, as if it was a big secret that should only be kept between the two of them. 

Avery didn't remember saying anything out of the ordinary. Clueless, she let him continue, "You told it to stop. So did I... And then you blacked out."

"Oh," she said plainly, "Maybe it'll come back to me later on, I think I hit my head pretty hard."

Harry nodded understandingly.

"Oh, Ava. Malfoy's here," he said bitterly. He offeredher a glass of water and left just as Draco walked in.

"You blacked out," he stated, taking a seat next to her bed. The beds in the hospital wing was unexpectedly very comfortable. She dug her fingers in the sheets when then horrid voice came back. 

_'Kill.'_

_'I want to kill.'_

Avery reminded herself to keep breathing. She focused on Draco, trying her very best to block it out.

"Did I now? Tell me something I don't know."

Draco didn't miss a beat, "You're a Parselmouth."

Avery nearly choked on water. Harry had mentioned it too earlier. 

"A _what_?"

"You can talk to snakes," He said impatiently, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I ... didn't know." She said quietly, "I would've told you if I did."

Draco decided to leave it at that.

-

After a long month of weighing her options, Avery decided it would be a good idea to tell Draco about the voice again.

He was surprisingly calm about it, but had said something about it being freaky, then coming up with a theory that it was coming from the Chamber of Secrets. She had told him it was crazy... But deep down she was scared he might be right.

Today was the day to put Hermione's plan into action.

The potions were ready but by the looks of it, neither Harry, Ron nor Hermione were. 

Avery peeked into the cauldron and scrunched up her nose in disgust. The smell was overpowering and it looked like boiled mud.

After digesting the sickly liquid, Harry described it was as if he was eating live snakes, his insides burning, his skin feeling like hot wax. Ron agreed. Avery scrunched up her face even more.

She couldn't help but admire Hermione's smarts - brewing a potion like this one took effort, skill, determination. She expected nothing less from the smartest witch in the year.

Looking at Ron and Harry, they looked like the exact replica of Crabbe and Goyle.

Ron looked at himself in the mirror then at Harry, "Bloody hell!"

Bloody hell was right.

Even Harry's scar was gone.

"We still sound like ourselves. You need to sound more like Crabbe," Harry pointed out.

Ron cleared his throat and tried again, this time with a deeper voice,"Um.. Bloody hell."

Avery giggled at his attempt.

Harry's face lit up, "Excellent."

Avery gave them some pointers about the characters they had to become when Hermione confessed to mistakenly taking not Millicent's hair, but a cat's fur.

"You guys go," she shoo'ed them away, obviously embarrassed.

Avery, Harry and Ron almost made it to the Slytherin Common Room with ease before encountering the Gryffindor Prefect, Percy. 

He eyed them suspiciously, asking questions they didn't have answers to.

Fortunately, Draco rounded off a corner at that exact moment, and he shouted, "Crabbe! Goyle! Where have you two been? Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?" He stopped, "...Why are you wearing glasses?"

Harry quickly took off his glasses.

"Um... reading."

"I didn't know you could read," Draco sneered. Avery couldn't help but laugh.

"Why were you with them?" He asked her.

She shrugged, "Pigging out in the Great Hall?"

Draco took that answer and led them into the Common Room.

Draco started the conversation about Ron's family - mentioning how they were a disgrace to the Wizarding World. Avery watched Ron clench his fist angrily.

She gave Draco multiple warning looks, to which he either ignored or missed.

"What's wrong with you, Crabbe?"

There was a pause.

"Stomachache. You should've seen him eat those drumsticks," Avery covered. Ron looked relieved.

Next came a topic about Dumbledore and Avery knew it had hit Harry's soft spot because he lashed out, screaming, "You're wrong!"

Avery shut her eyes, thinking Draco would figure it out.

"What? You think there's someone worse than Dumbledore?!" Draco snapped. Harry backed away.

"Well do you?!"

"...Harry Potter?

There was another long pause until Draco snickered, "Good one, Goyle."

Avery could hear the voice again. It was so close.

Her hands were up to her ears when she heard a ringing inside her head. The voice dimmed down as she did. She brought herself back to reality.

"What's the matter with you two?!" Draco yelled, "You're acting very... odd."

Nudging Ron's side, Avery said, "It's his stomachache. Isn't it, Crabbe?

She hopped on a table beside Draco, closer to the fireplace.

Her mouth dropped into the shape of an 'o' when Ron's red hair came sprouting back. She chucked a pen at them when Draco wasn't looking, mouthing, "Hair!" while holding up a strand of her own.

"Scar...." Ron was gaping at Harry's forehead. They both dashed off instantly, Ron grabbing a fistful of his hair and Harry putting a hand over his scar.

Avery flung herself down from the table and once she knew they were gone, she turned to Draco.

"I'm hearing the voice again."

"Why don't you just shut it out?" His tone had a bit of an edge to it.

She rolled her eyes, "I would if I could. When I tell it to go away, people look at me like I'm insane."

It was so silent in the room she could hear the crackling of the fireplace and the rhythm of their breaths.

"You know what Draco," she turned on her heel, "Don't worry about it, you won't understand."

She bolted out of the common room and a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She groaned when she realised that she had stepped on another puddle of water. But this time when she looked down, along with her wet shoes, she saw a reflection and a streak of yellow before hearing someone's blood-curdling scream.

It didn't take long for her to realise that scream belonged her.


	6. Missed Me?

Draco held his breath as he watched the petite girl being carried away in Hagrid's large hands, her dirty blond hair swishing around.

 _'If only he'd been there sooner,'_ he couldn't help but blame himself. Her head was tilted backwards, her lips jarred, her unblinking sapphire orbs gazing blankly.

As soon as Hagrid put her down on the hospital bed, Dumbledore and the other head teachers huddled around, murmuring amongst themselves.

Draco stood to the side, and was immediately questioned by Professor Snape.

"I didn't do it," he repeated.

He kept glancing at her, suddenly worried she would not wake up. He was glad when the professors left.

They were now crowding around Hermione Granger, who appeared to be in the same state as Avery.

_Serves her right, that mudblood.'_

Draco sat down next to his motionless friend. He pursed his lips, "I'll be damned if father hears about this."

He spoke softly, careful not to attract unnecessary attention. The only thing that caught Draco off guard was that Avery - a _pure-blood_ was attacked. _Why?_

"What happened to you? You gotta stop ending up in the hospital wing all the time."

His eyes narrowed down to slits, "I've been ordered to keep an eye on you for _who_ knows _what_ reason. and if something happened to you, it'd be the death of me."

He thought back to exactly the day before he was sent to Hogwarts, what his father had said to him. Shivers ran down his spine. _"Don't let her out of your sight, Draco."_ His father had done so in the same strict, monotonous voice he always used, _"Or there will be consequences."_

Draco scoffed at the words, turning his attention back to her, "I never thought I'd be friends with someone like you. Troublesome." He rose from his seat, "You better wake up soon. Crabbe and Goyle are quite irritating. I think they miss you." He left in a hurry.

He didn't know she could hear every word he said.

-

Draco Malfoy paced around the bed Avery was in. Crabbe and Goyle was sitting down, munching down on cupcakes. They offered one to Draco, who simply glared at them. He wasn't in the mood to eat. _How could they be in the mood to eat? Literally, all the time?_

The end of the school year is near and she still hasn't woken up. He had visited her _every. single. day,_ or sometimes every two days,and each time the hope that she would wake up would diminish little by little. He would never admit it but he was waiting for the day she'd get up from the bed, exchange a look with him and they'd laugh about it. _It wasn't funny._ But that was the thing with Avery. She made everything funny.

Avery knew she was paralyzed. When Draco asked her if she was dead, she wanted to smack him in the head and scold him for even thinking that. She heard every word he said to her, even the ones that she thought Draco Malfoy would never say. There was one time where he _sort of_ held her hand. It was more like a forced grasp. Sort of. She wanted to smile, to laugh, to talk but every part of her body from the top of her head to the tip of her toes were frozen in place. 

"Madam Pomfrey, is the Mandrake juice ready?" She could hear Draco ask. She could swear he had asked the same question 50 times but the answer was always the same - "Not yet, dear."

Draco would take a deep, long breath and grunt in frustration. She was sure another week has past when Draco walked in 7 more times, once a day. This time with a troubled look.

"Potter's down there," He began begrudgingly, "Whatever it is he's doing with Lockhart better be good." He ran his fingers through his hair. 

_'Down where?'_

Avery had a feeling he meant the Chamber of Secrets. He inched closer to her, "Your eyes do this strange thing sometimes..." Draco trailed off when Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout approached, giving him small tap on the shoulder.

"Come back tomorrow, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Sprout advised. "You should head back to your dormitory now. It's a quarter to six."

Avery was certain that Draco had mentioned once there were a new set of rules declaring every student had to be back by 6. She didn't know what they put in her mouth once he left, but it was runny. It didn't taste very nice. 

"That should do it," Professor Sprout smiled sympathetically and fluffed her pillow, "Oh that boy."

She had a soft smile as she looked to the exit, moments after Draco walked out. "He's going to jump out of his skin when he sees you." Then she made her way to the next bed.

It was the next day before she knew it. 

Avery stretched out her legs, yawning and rubbing her face with both arms. "Holy-" She went rigid, "I'm moving," She said dumbly to herself.

Hermione was already up, an unbelieving smile on her face.

"Hermione!" Avery called out, heaving herself up from the bed. Her legs felt like jelly and she had never felt so worn out, but it felt like she was bursting with all the energy in the world. Hermione pulled her blanket away and hopped off the bed, almost tripping.

"Ava!" She looked very pleased, "Let's get cleaned up, shall we?"

Avery hopped on her right foot, then her left, making sure she has regained full balance before following Hermione out with a smile.

They spent nearly three hours in the Prefects' bathroom after bathing, just lying around and enjoying ... well, being alive.

"You know we aren't allowed here, right?" The question escaped Hermione's lips, and Avery knew she's been waiting to ask that since they got there.

"I'm sure it's fine. I just want to enjoy being free!" Avery squealed. She was just grateful for Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout's mandrake juice. Half an hour later, they decided to get going. It was already dark out as they made their way to the Great Hall, skipping and giggling the whole way.

The door unlocked itself with a small push and they were greeted by the familiar faces of their classmates. Hermione gave Avery's shoulder a squeeze when she spotted Harry and Ron before scampering off to the Gryffindor Table. Avery followed her there, exchanging quick hugs with the two boys, expressing her concerns and her gratefulness. She then strolled over to the Slytherin Table, acting as if nothing had happened these past months. A lot of them muttered a quick _'hey'_ , gave her high-fives, asked her questions with faces full of concern. Some of them didn't care. It was fairly easy for her to identify Crabbe and Goyle in a sea of kids. They were busy eyeing the food in front of them, impatiently waiting for the feast to begin.

Goyle looked at her as if he had just seen a ghost. "Are you alive?" He stupidly asked.

Crabbe hit his head, "Of course she is, rock head."

"Where's Draco?" Her eyes scanned the room for him - no luck.

"He went to the hospital wing," Crabbe replied, "Again." He nudged Goyle, who nudged him back.

She heard the parting of the door to the Great Hall despite all the chatters. Avery forgot about her conversation with Crabbe and Goyle and broke into a sprint, her eyes focused on one person.

"Draco!" She shouted, dashing past students and flinging her arms around him. He fell back, stunned and surprised.

"You're alive." was the only thing he could muster.

Avery wanted to thank him for coming every so often, she wanted to tease him about the things he had said, she wanted to ask him why he had to watch over her. That all could be saved for later, she settled. When they both got back up on their feet, she threw her arms around him again (softer, this time) and squeezed.

"Missed me, Malfoy?"

He scoffed, "No."

_Easy lie._

"It's okay, I missed you too," Avery's lips curled into a smile, "Did you know that when two individuals hug, they put their arms around each other?"

He gave her back two awkward taps, then she pulled away. Draco had a tint of red on his cheeks.

"Also, I heard everything you said," she added with a cheeky smile.

His reaction changed in the blink of an eye. His whole facial expression showed pure horror.

He started off, "Don't you menti-"

Still a big grin on her face, she raised both her hands then crossed her heart, "I won't."

They started to make their way to the Slytherin table, "Welcome back," he finally said softly before turning away with his usual expression.

She wiggled her eyebrows and balled her hands into fists a couple of times, making sure this was all real.

"Glad to be back."


	7. Dementors and Buckbeak

Fast forward two years later, and here was Avery Evergreen, sitting opposite Draco Malfoy on the train to Hogwarts.

He was reading a newspaper of some sort, with a headline that screamed out the words "ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN!" Below that was a moving picture of a man, who seemed like he was struggling to tear free, his mouth open as if he was screaming something.

"Whatchu' reading?" Avery plopped onto the empty space beside him, closing the space between them. She tried to peek at the newspaper. He shut the pages quickly, placing the crinkly thing on his lap.

"Prick," she mumbled under her breath, knowing he had done that on purpose just to piss her off.

"Watch the language, Acacia," Draco smirked, handing her the newspaper. Avery rolled her eyes. He was the only one allowed to call her that, even though she hated that name. 

You see, Draco Malfoy, is her best friend. Yes, he was a bundle of moodswings and a pain in the ass sometimes, but he was one of the people she could trust with her life.

"I'm going to find Harry, I'm bored," Avery threw the newspaper back at Draco, who caught it with ease.

"Potter again?" He raised an eyebrow. "I don't see what you find so great about the three of them." His face crinkled with disgust.

"Well, for one, they're not judgmental pricks like you," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Hey!" Crabbe suddenly chimed in. Avery almost forgot he was there.

"You know I'm just kidding," She chuckled.

Trying to find where Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting was difficult. Even on the train, it was cold. She clutched onto her jumper and hid her hands in her pockets.

Yes, they were Gryffindors and she was a Slytherin. But that didn't matter the slightest. It did at first, but that's another story for another time. They were close friends and nothing gets in the way of that. Sure, Draco doesn't like it, and she had to hide quite a fair bit from her parents, but ultimately, they know she can take care of herself.

"Hermione!" Avery greeted when she saw the familiar fuzz of brown hair. She entered the compartment.

"Ron! Harry!" She engulfed them in hugs, and chimes of "Ava!" and "Hey Ava"'s could be heard. It was then she noticed a mysterious figure sitting on the corner of a seat.

"Who's that?" She asked, trying to get a good look at the face but it was completely covered with a cloak.

"A professor," Ron shrugged before swiftly changing the subject, "Anyways, as I was saying - No one has ever escaped from Azkaban before." His eyes darted from Hermione's, to Harry's, to Avery's. "And he's a murderous, raving lunatic."

"Avery was about to respond when the train came to a complete halt. Nervous glances were thrown around the compartment.

"W-Why are we stopping?" Hermione asked, alarmed, "We can't be there yet."

Harry and Avery got up, poking their heads through the door. Draco's head poked out as well. Their eyes met. Avery darted from where she was and headed towards him.

"Drac-" Her voice caught in her throat when everything turned pitch black. The image of a confused Draco in front of her flashed in her mind. The only light she could see was the dim moonlight from outside the window. Not only that, but the windows had frosted as well. 

"Dr-Draco?" She called out into the darkness. It was as if she was alone in the train. It was dead silence.

' _What on earth was going on?'_

She held back a frightened scream when a hand clasped around her wrist and dragged her forward. 

"Calm down, it's just me," Draco's familiar voice echoed. Then, there was a shutting of doors and a click. The lights simmered above them, and she could see the frightened faces of Crabbe and Goyle.

"Scared?" Avery couldn't help but say when she saw how brave Draco was trying to be.

He scoffed, "No."

But she could tell by the way his voice trembled that he was trying hard not to let it show. It had started raining heavily outside, making the temperature drop further. Her hands were ice cold and the air that escaped from her lips were visible as a puff of smoke.

"Bloody hell!" She let out a small gasp as the train rocked.

Avery felt Draco tense up in his seat when they both saw a black, hooded floating figure appear outside their compartment. With a swift gesture, the door started to click open and it slid to the side. Everyone froze in fear. Avery dare not make a sound, but her eyes were glued on the creature. It didn't have any eyes, nose or mouth but it looked at the four of them, one to another before slowly, and finally leaving.

Letting out a long breath, Avery turned to the three boys, all of them speechless. She gasped for air, unaware that she was holding in her breath.

Draco looked down at her hand, which was giving his a death grip. 

"Why am I touching you?" Avery thought out loud, the corners of her lips turning into a grin. "Cooties!"

She let go and jokingly rubbed her palm on the seat. Draco didn't find it funny though. Instead, he just sat there, with a blank look on his face. She could tell he was still scared.

She opened her mouth to joke about it, but with a second thought, she decided to stay quiet. It probably wasn't the best time.

"You're so immature," Draco shook his head and looked away. But not before she noticed the small smirk playing on his lips.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Hogwarts will have all the answers," she assured the three boys.

-

When they reached Hogwarts, Avery received answers to most of her questions from Dumbledore. He called them Dementors - unforgiving and vicious.

Everyone made their way into their common rooms and dormitories when Avery spotted Draco talking to Pansy Parkinson, a fellow Slytherin. Pansy giggled as Draco said something and he gave her an odd look.

Avery walked past them casually, sneaking Draco a wink and pointing towards Pansy. But before she could get far, Draco called out her name, excusing himself from his conversation.

"You ruined your chance there, lover boy," Avery teased, speed-walking away from Pansy with Draco by her side.

"Please," he said sarcastically, "Like I would ever go out with her."

"You can't have such high standards, you know," she giggled, "And plus, she's not bad." Draco cringed at the words _'not bad'_.

"Pansy? Really? You have impossibly low standards," he shook his head.

"I'm off to sleep Draco, don't dream of Dementors," Avery said, and made her way to the girls' room.

Draco turned towards the boys' dorms, smirking as he said, "Don't dream of me."

Avery rolled her eyes, "As if I would, _Malfoy_."

The first class next morning was Divination. Avery sat opposite from Draco, as always he was her partner. They were greeted by a frizzy haired teacher.. She had thick round glasses that stood out. "Her hair looks like it's made out of old broomsticks ," Draco whispered to Avery.

"That's so rude, Draco," she retorted, but she couldn't help but agree. The lady seemed too overly excited as she explained how we were going to read tea leaves out of each others' tea cups. Avery grabbed Draco's cup and attempted to read it. She gasped.

Draco's eyes darted from her cup to his. "What?"

Avery didn't say anything.

"Ava, what do you see?"

She kept staring at his cup, not saying a single word.

"Ava!!" His voice rose, his eyes wild with fear.

_Score._

"You're- You're in grave danger," she breathed out, keeping up the act.

"Ava, are you-" Draco paused mid sentence, "I swear if you're messing with me-" She didn't look at him. She knew if she did, she would burst into laughter.

"Ava, this isn't funny," he yanked the cup from her hand and flipped through his book. The amount of 'Ava's he said in his sentence was somehow hilarious. He only called her Ava when he's being dead serious.

"I'm so sorry Draco, I-" She couldn't help it and broke into a series of laughter. "I'm sorry you believed me."

Draco didn't say anything at first, then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "You have to stop doing that."

His tone was serious, no sign of amusement. Avery's smile quickly faded as Draco packed his books, grabbed his bag and walked out of class without another word.

"Someone's on his man period," she muttered, not understanding his rash behaviour. Crabbe heard her and snorted.

Avery considered going after him when she heard the Professor gasp, dropping a cup. "M-M-My dear..." She faced Harry, with a frightened look on her face, "You have the grim."

_'This can't be good...'_

Avery got up from her seat and walked towards Harry, holding his cup in her hand as she heard someone explain what the grim meant. "... The omen of death." She could only catch the last part. Harry's jaw tightened.

Then she remembered Draco and rushed out of class, just in time for the next lesson - Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. Draco was already there, leaning against the rock with a few other Slytherins. He avoided eye contact.

Hagrid introduced the class to his new friend, BuckBeak, a strange creature that had the wings and face of a bird but the strange thing was that it had four legs.

"Now, who'd like to come and say hello?" Hagrid looked very, very enthusiastic about his pet. Everyone backed off except for Harry. The crowd was suffocating, everyone was huddled together. It pushed Avery towards Draco.

"Still mad?" She asked, her tone apologetic. Draco avoided the question. Instead, he plucked a green apple from a tree and munched into it, watching Harry carefully approach BuckBeak. 

"Draco!" She elbowed him lightly, but he still acted like she wasn't there.

Everyone watched Harry soar up the skies on BuckBeak. He was gone for a while but when he came back, everyone cheered and whistled. Avery opened her mouth, about to say something to Draco. He wasn't there anymore.

"Oh crap," She muttered as she saw him march up to BuckBeak, shoving people out of the way, words spilling out of his mouth. It was obvious he didn't like the attention Harry was getting. To be honest, she didn't like that bit about Draco. And some other bits. Nevertheless he was still her best friend.

Avery gave an exasperated sigh and ran after Draco, calling out his name.

This was the thing between them, she was always the good (well, the more rational) one and he was the bad (well, the less rational, in this sense) one. 

' _Aren't all Slytherins bad? '_ you ask.

The answer is no.

She always looked out for him; but no matter how patient she was, it was getting a tad tedious.

He had his eyes focused on the creature in front of him. She yanked his robe and the next thing she knew she was on the ground. There was a horrible sound of something being hit as she heard Draco yell out, "Wait til' my father hears about this!"

She let out a half hearted smile, but her concern didn't waver.

Typical Draco.

-

Avery was awoken by a sudden gush of wind. "Finally," spoke a voice she knew so well. She felt a sharp pain on her forehead, realising that there was a bandaid near the side.

From the hospital bed, she could see the pale moonlight outside, casting shadows over oak trees. The dark lake that I used to be so afraid of glimmered in the light.

"Can you close the window for me?" She asked hoarsely.

"For you, Acacia? I don't think so."

Avery did nothing but gave him a hard stare, signalling him she was serious. Draco got up and walked over to the window, shutting it.

"You're not allowed here after dark," she pointed out, glancing at the clock. 

"Says who?" He challenged.

"Says the rules," she stated.

Draco walked up to the side of her bed and leaned in close. So close she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He pulled back, his grey eyes piercing into her blue ones, "Since when have I played by the rules?"

_'Since never.'_

"Are you gonna kiss me or what?" Avery blurted out, taunting him.

Draco seemed to be giving it some thought and he started to inch closer, and _closer--_

"S-Stop! Draco!" Avery put her hands on his chest, but she didn't push. "I was just kidding-"

He pulled back with an unreadable face and said, "You didn't think I'd actually want to kiss you, did you?" He snorted.

Avery felt the red creeping up to her cheeks.

"N-No," she stuttered. "Course not."

An awkward, uncomfortable silence hung around them until she asked, "Still mad?"

Draco just got up from his seat, "Don't be so sensitive, Ava. I was never mad. You've got to stop treating everything like a joke."

_He called me Ava._

"Yeah, sorry," Was all she managed to croak out. "Goodnight, Draco."


	8. It Never Happened

It was just another day at Hogwarts.

Ginny Weasley walked side by side with Avery, talking about how much she adored Hogwarts, but also how much she missed home.

Avery had met the youngest Weasley a little while back, and as usual it took the ginger more than a little time to get used to the Slytherin's companion. Avery remembered the way her eyes grew wide and her mouth hung down when she realised that Ginny Weasley was the girl who had talked back to Draco a few years ago in the bookstore.

Hearing Ginny talk about her parents, Avery couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. She missed her mother and father sometimes too, but she knew they both would want her to focus on her studies.

"Are you close with Harry?" Ginny asked out of nowhere, a little blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Avery's eyes narrowed and a sly grin crept onto her lips, "Why?"

Ginny bit her lip.

"It's okay, I won't tell if that's what you're worried about," Avery reassured. She noticed some people staring at them, with suspicious looks. She knew they've always wondered why she, a Slytherin would be seen around Gryffindors. Even people from her own house would talk behind her back.

_Blood Traitor._

Avery felt a lump in her throat. She pushed the words to the very back of her head and averted her focus back to Ginny.

"He's..." Ginny trailed off, gasping a little when she spotted Harry.

"Hey Ava, Gin," Harry greeted. He didn't stop by to talk.

"Cute," The ginger finished off, with a small smile on her face. She put a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Aw Ginny, that's adorable," Avery cooed, clapping her hands together. They'd make a fine couple. But when Ginny asked Avery who she had her mind on--

"Um..." 

Avery apped her chin and pretended to be in deep thought but the first person to pop into her mind was none other than Draco Malfoy. She shook her head, convincing herself he was the first person she thought of because of their close bond.

"No one."

 _'Liar',_ Ginny arched a brow, catching her out on the lie.

Avery subtly tried to shift their topic of focus but it wasn't long before Ginny moved back to the topic of boys.

"I think Malfoy wants to talk to you," she said his name like it was venom in her mouth. Avery caught a glimpse of the blond haired Slytherin before saying her goodbyes to Ginny.

"Acacia, there you were," He said, "With that Weasley." He emphasised nastily on 'Weasley'. "I need your help," he stated.

"What?" Avery pretended not to hear him, "Repeat that again, could you please?"

He snarled, giving her a dirty look. She snickered, "Sorry, I was just thinking of all the possibilities on why Draco Lucius Malfoy would ask for my help." She put a hand on her chest, "I'm flattered."

The look still scribbled on his face, he said, "Mother's birthday's coming up and I need to get her some sort of present. So come down to Hogsmeade with me or el-"

"Alright, alright, no need for threats now. Let's go before it gets dark," Avery giggled and led the way.

It was breezy, sudden gushes of wind would hit her face out of nowhere, sweeping her dirty blonde locks away from her cheeks. "Why didn't you ask Pansy?" She asked.

Draco inhaled sharply, "Pansy Parkinson?" He made a sour face.

"There are no other Pansys," Avery replied, ignoring the expression he just made,"She's a sweet girl you know."

"You're too nice for my liking," he responded bluntly.

Avery winced at his comment.

"You're too rude for my liking," she retorted, "I guess we're not to each others liking then."

When they reached the streets, Avery started to make her way to HoneyDukes, butterscotch in her mind, but Draco grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She shivered.

"No time for that," he frowned.

"You look prettier when you smile," she thought out loud. But as soon as those words escaped her lips, regret washed over her face.

"So I'm pretty now?" He was grinning like a maniac.

"Yeah, whatever," she tried to shrug it off nonchalantly, "Anyways, you should buy her a bracelet or a necklace or jewellery, girls like that."

Draco arched a brow, "My mother is not 'girls'."

"Your mother likes jewelry."

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he realised she was right.

Avery finally convinced Draco to visit HoneyDukes. She happily picked up a box of little chocolates.

"This says... It would ... supposedly make you tell the truth at all costs, and much, much more...?" She read out the label.

 _'Interesting,'_ she thought to herself, deciding to buy it.

She looked at Draco, and she knew he could tell from how her face lit up that she has got an idea. A mad one at that. He stared at her, as if saying _'Oh no. What now?'_

"Truth or dare, Draco?"

He stared at her dumbfounded.

"Yes, I challenge you to a game of truth or dare," Avery repeated, "No, before you say anything it is not childish and if you want my help, you'll go along with this." She didn't bother hiding the devilish grin tugging at the corner of her lips.

It took her a while to convince his stubborn self but about 10 minutes later, he reluctantly gave in, "Dare."

Always the daredevil, the kid. Avery handed him a chocolate and he gave it an odd look before chewing it. He made a face and swallowed it. She popped one in her mouth as well and cringed. The taste of rubber was overpowering. She swallowed it bitterly.

"I don't feel any diff-"

"I dare you to ask that lady out," Avery pointed to a woman who looked at least 50. Draco looked unsure, he was starting to get irritated already.

"Backing down?" She taunted.

"No. I'm a Malfoy. I can get any girl I want," he said proudly before staggering over to that lady. They exchanged a few words before the lady yelped out, like a cat whose tail just got stepped on. She shoo'ed him with her red purse and hurried away.

Draco came back, wide eyed and traumatised.

Avery busted out laughing, giving him two thumbs up,"Tha-t was gold. Okay, okay, I pick dare."

"Go up to that man," he pointed at a 20 year old ma, who had a massive, hairy mole on his cheek, "Snog him."

"Oh I'd rather snog you," she winked, a burst of excitement exploding in her chest. 

_'What in Merlin's beard? Avery, you must shut up now.'_

Draco furrowed his eyebrows together, but his lips were twisted in a crooked smile, "But you'd enjoy that too much, wouldn't you?"

Avery scoffed and was about to walk up to that man when Draco stopped her.

"I change my mind," he smirked, "Snog me instead."

"Really?" The words escaped her lips in such a whisper she doubted he heard her.

And so she leaned in close to him, their faces just millimeters away from each other. He grabbed her waist hastily, jerking her body towards his. She could feel heat spread throughout her body.

She could see his eyelids flutter close as he started to tilt his head forward. 

_'Is this for real?'_

"Draco..." She warned. If she could describe how she was feeling with colours right now, it would be red.

_Red. Red. Red._

_Everywhere._

"Get a room!" Avery's head could not have made a sharper turn as she saw a dumbfounded Gryffindor, one of Harry's friends standing a few feet away from them with a Hufflepuff by his side. It snapped both Slytherins back to reality. 

_'What on earth were we doing?'_

Her fingers were in his hair, and his hands had fully snaked themselves around her waist. Barely a gap in-between them.

"I-It was the chocolate," Avery could feel her cheeks getting hotter.

_Red._

"Let's go!" She took a hold of Draco's hand and fled.

They were both huffing and puffing when they knew they were far enough from everyone else. They shared a look as they struggled to catch their breaths. The cold air was harsh on their lungs.

"You're a hundred shades of crimson." Was Draco's first remark.

Avery disregarded that, "I'm going to pretend whatever happened back there," making motions with her hands, "Never happened."

They both agreed on it, embarrassed and upset.

"It never happened," she repeated.


End file.
